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 Elephant 

What grade would you give this film?
A 50%  50%  [ 5 ]
B 10%  10%  [ 1 ]
C 30%  30%  [ 3 ]
D 10%  10%  [ 1 ]
F 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
Total votes : 10

 Elephant 
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College Boy Z

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Post Elephant
Elephant

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Elephant is a 2003 American drama film written and directed by Gus Van Sant. It takes place in the fictional Watt High School, in the city of Portland, Oregon, and chronicles the events surrounding a school shooting, based in part on the 1999 Columbine High School massacre. The film begins a short time before the shooting occurs, following the lives of several characters both in and out of school, who are unaware of what is about to unfold. The film stars mostly new or non-professional actors, including John Robinson, Alex Frost, and Eric Deulen.

This is the second movie in Gus Van Sant's "Death Trilogy." The first is Gerry, and the third is Last Days; all three are based on actual events.

The film was generally acclaimed by critics and received the prestigious Palme d'Or at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. As the first high-profile movie to address high school shootings since Columbine, the film was controversial for its subject matter and possible influence on teenage copy-cats.


Sat Apr 02, 2005 2:11 pm
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Wallflower
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A generous 6/10 (B-).


Last edited by Magic Mike on Mon Apr 12, 2010 1:45 am, edited 1 time in total.



Mon Apr 04, 2005 5:59 pm
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What a waste of time, hated it. D-


Sat Apr 09, 2005 11:02 am
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Superfreak
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Post Re: Elephant
f

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Tue Apr 22, 2008 12:19 am
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Post Re: Elephant
What? D? F? Really? Wow?

This film sticks with you like no other.


Tue Apr 22, 2008 5:49 am
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Post Re: Elephant
Just a big piece of crap that believes it's something much more.


Tue Apr 22, 2008 10:20 am
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Post Re: Elephant
I own this film so I must like it to some degree. Overall, I found it interesting to watch even though there really isn't much of anything to it. It's like just a timeline of a day and a half. It's pretty void of meaning just as the real killings it was emulating were.

What I'd like to know is how this compares to people who thought Funny Games was grade A stuff? What separates the two? How come I can find Funny Games so repulsive and yet Elephant I can watch without being repulsed even though people are killed without care.

grade = B

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Tue Apr 22, 2008 10:45 am
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Post Re: Elephant
'Elephant' might be van Sant's best film: contemplative, many-voiced, perfected in itself.

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Thu Apr 24, 2008 1:45 pm
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Post Re: Elephant
It's perhaps even better than Gerry, which is saying something considering how much I loved that film.

Van Sant creates a truly dreamlike atmosphere, almost entirely through his meandering camerawork, and that provides a nice contrast to the nightmarish events; in the hands of another director, a dark, dreary aesthetic would have been used, thus creating a nightmarish atmosphere, but I think Van Sant is quite ballsy and even respectful by doing what he does. He's not dramatizing or romanticizing the events; he's merely showing them naturally, just as they occurred. In a way, he's acting against the typical media response following Columbine; it's anti-sensational, anti-melodramatic, simply pure. And I really appreciated that.

Probably my favourite Van Sant to date (that I've seen).

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Sun Dec 07, 2008 4:31 am
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Post Re: Elephant
I have never had a dream that showed anything 'naturally' or 'as [it] occurred'


Sun Dec 07, 2008 3:25 pm
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Post Re: Elephant
maybe the best high school film ever. And the fact that it's more haunting before the shooting than during it just goes to show you how the scariest things are the things that you don't see. My respect for Van Sant has gone way up (and it was already very high, since I thought Will Hunting and Milk were both very good). He says that "The Shining" was his main inspiration, and it shows -- the way the camera follows the characters around as they do such "ordinary" things, the way he blends music and sound together with the images, the way the real story can be found in the subtext of the dialogue... it's like a modern-day combination of "Shining" and "2001". Absolutely amazing. How people weren't absorbed by this film is beyond me... those long tracking shots just suck you right into the mood and never let go.

A

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Fri Jul 03, 2009 1:41 am
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Post Re: Elephant
What Reed said.

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Fri Jul 03, 2009 2:59 am
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Post Re: Elephant
nghtvsn wrote:
I own this film so I must like it to some degree. Overall, I found it interesting to watch even though there really isn't much of anything to it. It's like just a timeline of a day and a half. It's pretty void of meaning just as the real killings it was emulating were.

What I'd like to know is how this compares to people who thought Funny Games was grade A stuff? What separates the two? How come I can find Funny Games so repulsive and yet Elephant I can watch without being repulsed even though people are killed without care.

grade = B


Wrong!!!

There was a deep meaning behind the reality that inspired this movie. You need to read Dave Cullen's book.


Sun Apr 11, 2010 8:04 pm
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Post Re: Elephant
Joe, Columbine was two depressed, disturbed, misguided people lashing out and causing senseless destruction and unrivaled pain. It was a TRAGEDY and it's disgusting how you are putting the perpetrators and their crime on a pedestal.

I am sorry you're depressed, but why don't you drop this B.S. and strive to be healthy and productive? You're not helpless. No one is standing in your way but you. Your sadness is certainly not anyone on this forum's fault, nor is it the fault of the innocent people you seem to be fantasizing about shooting. Wise the fuck up.

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Sun Apr 11, 2010 8:10 pm
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Post Re: Elephant
-sigh-

Please ban him.

KJ shouldn't stand for unstable people who sympathize with mass murderers (and have no sympathy for the innocent victims). If Joe isn't banned, it sets a bad precedent for this forum.

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Sun Apr 11, 2010 8:34 pm
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Post Re: Elephant
Ban him.

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Sun Apr 11, 2010 8:39 pm
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Post Re: Elephant
Ban him and report him the proper authorities (FBI?).

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Sun Apr 11, 2010 8:44 pm
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Orphan

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Post Re: Elephant
Gunslinger wrote:
Ban him and report him the proper authorities (FBI?).


Except I've never actually threatened anything except my own suicide which the FBI doesn't care about. Like I said to Lecter, this is a ploy I knew would piss people off so I'm doing it in hopes you finally do what I've been asking you to do for months now.


Sun Apr 11, 2010 8:45 pm
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Post Re: Elephant
BAN HIM.

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Sun Apr 11, 2010 8:47 pm
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Orphan

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Post Re: Elephant
Gunslinger wrote:
BAN HIM.


I've asked Lecter to do just that. He said no.

Something about wanting to keep me here for some control reason or another. Stupid if you ask me.


Sun Apr 11, 2010 8:48 pm
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Post Re: Elephant
I don't give a damn about joe's tendancies or Gunslinger's aversion to them, but please stop hi-jacking threads for awesome movies.

P.S. My Review:
This is a really good movie. Like really really extremely good.

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Malcolm wrote:
You seem to think threatening violence against people is perfectly okay because you feel offended by their words, so that's kind of telling in itself.

Exactly. If they don't know how to behave, and feel OK offending others, they get their ass kicked, so they'll think next time before opening their rotten mouths.


Sun Apr 11, 2010 9:37 pm
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Post Re: Elephant
Michael A wrote:
I don't give a damn about joe's tendancies or Gunslinger's aversion to them, but please stop hi-jacking threads for awesome movies.

P.S. My Review:
This is a really good movie. Like really really extremely good.


My "Ban Him" posts should be deleted since Joe's numerous offensive posts were.

And you should give a damn when it comes to Joe's "tendencies." He's a creep.

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Mon Apr 12, 2010 1:29 am
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Post Re: Elephant
Gunslinger wrote:
Michael A wrote:
I don't give a damn about joe's tendancies or Gunslinger's aversion to them, but please stop hi-jacking threads for awesome movies.

P.S. My Review:
This is a really good movie. Like really really extremely good.


My "Ban Him" posts should be deleted since Joe's numerous offensive posts were.

And you should give a damn when it comes to Joe's "tendencies." He's a creep.

I am not here to evaluate and criticize "creeps." I am here to discuss movies. If you have such a problem put him on ignore. In the meantime, what do you think of Gus Van Sant's indie film "elephant?"

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Mr. R wrote:
Malcolm wrote:
You seem to think threatening violence against people is perfectly okay because you feel offended by their words, so that's kind of telling in itself.

Exactly. If they don't know how to behave, and feel OK offending others, they get their ass kicked, so they'll think next time before opening their rotten mouths.


Mon Apr 12, 2010 1:46 am
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Post Re: Elephant
Michael A wrote:
Gunslinger wrote:
Michael A wrote:
I don't give a damn about joe's tendancies or Gunslinger's aversion to them, but please stop hi-jacking threads for awesome movies.

P.S. My Review:
This is a really good movie. Like really really extremely good.


My "Ban Him" posts should be deleted since Joe's numerous offensive posts were.

And you should give a damn when it comes to Joe's "tendencies." He's a creep.

I am not here to evaluate and criticize "creeps." I am here to discuss movies. If you have such a problem put him on ignore. In the meantime, what do you think of Gus Van Sant's indie film "elephant?"


It's a haunting, extremely well-shot mood piece. I dig how it doesn't try to offer definitive answers as to "why?"

Gerry is better, though. Have you seen that Gus Van Sant indie film, Savage?

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Mon Apr 12, 2010 1:57 am
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Post Re: Elephant
I have not. In fact this, milk, and that movie about hunting for will are, sadly, my only encounters with Sant. Although Netflix says I would give Gerry a "3.2 stars."

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Mr. R wrote:
Malcolm wrote:
You seem to think threatening violence against people is perfectly okay because you feel offended by their words, so that's kind of telling in itself.

Exactly. If they don't know how to behave, and feel OK offending others, they get their ass kicked, so they'll think next time before opening their rotten mouths.


Mon Apr 12, 2010 2:16 am
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